A long, thorough, but absorbing read, full of near-misses and the weird bureaucratic combination of terror and boredom in the same system (nuclear weapons creation and management).

Most telling detail: it wasn't until I read this that I learned the SAC's "Peace is Our Profession" motto was not a dark joke that Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman wrote for Good Omens. It was the actual real-life SAC motto. I got chills when I realized, and now I feel far less safe in the world. Smarter, but less safe.